Chapter 1

“Since when?”

Nina’s hands shook as she clutched the medical report. Her eyes, wide with disbelief, locked onto the man standing before her.

There it was, clear as day.

Mia Lopez — seven weeks pregnant.

She had never imagined this.

Fifteen years of knowing each other. Seven years of love. Three years of marriage.

And now her husband had cheated on her.

Her face turned deathly pale. She looked as fragile as a porcelain doll covered in cracks, her entire world blurring before her eyes.

Five years ago, she had been in a car accident. The injuries left her unable to conceive. The doctors told her she had almost no chance of having children.

But Miles Jackson loved kids.

After they married, she gave up her career and dedicated herself to treatment. She took countless pills, endured endless injections, and suffered more pain than she could count.

And finally, after countless hopes and disappointments, she had conceived.

She had come here full of joy, ready to share this miracle with him.

She never expected to be met with betrayal instead.

How laughable.

“May 7th.”

Miles didn’t try to deny it. Instead, he let out a breath, as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.

Over a month ago, he had attended a business banquet. Someone had slipped something into his drink. The effects were swift and overpowering. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to call his assistant, it was too late.

He had blacked out. And when he woke up the next morning, Mia was lying next to him.

He was terrified. He panicked.

He feared Nina would find out. That very day, he gave Mia a large sum of money to keep quiet and sent her far away.

He never imagined she would end up pregnant.

Mia spoke softly, her voice trembling. “Mrs. Jackson, what happened that night was just an accident. There’s nothing between Mr. Jackson and me. If it weren’t for this pregnancy, I would never have come here today…”

Slap!

A sharp slap cut her off mid-sentence.

Nina’s eyes were ice-cold. She gritted her teeth, spitting out each word. “Don’t tell me you were drugged too.”

It took two to tango. No one’s pants ever just fell off by themselves.

Mia’s gaze flickered as she looked away in guilt.

“I didn’t know Mr. Jackson was married,” she said weakly. “I’m just a regular server. The banquet was full of influential people. I couldn’t afford to offend anyone.”

Nina let out a cold laugh. She didn’t believe a single word.

Miles had worn his wedding ring from the day they were married and had never taken it off.

And as the second son of the Jackson family, his identity was no secret.

For events like this, organizers always trained their staff beforehand to recognize key guests. No one with any sense would have risked provoking someone of his status.

But at this point, arguing further was meaningless.

Nina had already seen the security footage from the banquet.

In the video, Miles was clearly drunk and barely conscious. Mia, as one of the servers, led him upstairs to rest.

On the surface, it all seemed perfectly reasonable.

Nina said nothing. For over a minute, she watched that short video again and again, as if punishing herself.

She never knew a person’s heart could hurt this much. The pain cut to the bone. It was unbearable.

In the end, it looked like no one was truly at fault. The whole thing had been an accident.

She, Mia, and Miles all seemed like victims in this mess.

But in the end, her husband had betrayed her. Intentional or not, that was the truth.

How was she supposed to forgive that?

As for Miles’s explanation, Nina didn’t doubt it.

They had grown up together, weathered life’s hardest moments side by side, and supported each other through the years. She had always believed in the kind of man he was.

No one knew how much time had passed before Nina finally spoke again.

“Miles Jackson.”

She looked straight at him, as if she had made up her mind.

“I’ll only ask you once. Mia Lopez and her child. What do you plan to do about them?”

Miles’s voice came out rough and strained. “Honey…”

Seeing the woman he loved in tears tore at his heart.

Nina bit down hard on her lip. Her knuckles were white from clutching her purse so tightly. Inside it was her own prenatal report.

She forced herself to stay strong. She needed an answer.

“Say it!”

As long as Miles said he didn’t want Mia’s child, she would forgive him. She would tell him the joyful news she had come here to share but hadn’t yet had the chance to say.

The office fell into dead silence.

Miles struggled internally for a long time. In the end, he lowered his head. He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her.

“Honey, I’d already made up my mind before you came.”

This was something she was bound to find out eventually. It was better to tell her now than to hurt her all over again later.

“If the child is mine, I want to keep it.”

She had expected this. And yet, it still felt like a punch to the gut.

His words were like a boulder, crushing her fragile heart into dust.

“I’ll arrange a place for Mia. She won’t appear in our world until after the baby is born.

“Once the baby is born, I’ll give her a sum of money and have her leave.”

Nina stared at him, her eyes full of heartbreak and disappointment. She looked as if she might shatter at the slightest touch, like a porcelain doll already cracked beyond repair.

Her eyes reddened again, welling with unshed tears.

Miles couldn’t stand it. He pulled her into his arms, his voice soft to the point of pleading.

“Honey, what happened that night was just an accident. The only woman I’ve ever loved is you.”

He coaxed her gently. “You’ve always wanted a child too, haven’t you? Once the baby is born, we can raise it as our own, okay?

“And this would give my mother and the family an answer too.”

Nina shut her eyes in anguish. Tears slid down her cheeks, falling onto Miles’s tailored suit.

She pushed him away.

The man in front of her, pleading so humbly, now felt like a stranger.

Wiping her tears, Nina let out a bitter laugh and asked coldly, “Miles Jackson, do you think I don’t feel anything?

“What makes you think I’m generous enough to raise a child you had with another woman?”

If what happened at the banquet had been a betrayal of the body, then this moment was a betrayal of the heart.

She could force herself to forgive the physical mistake, disgusting as it was. But she could never accept Miles knowingly keeping the child, fully aware of how much it would hurt her.

Her pride would not allow it.

Nina gave a cold, mocking smile.

Fighting back her sobs, she spoke clearly.

“Let’s get a divorce.”

Miles’s expression froze. “What?”

“I said, let’s get a divorce.”

Panic filled Miles’s usually composed eyes. He grabbed her hand as she tried to leave.

“Honey, if you don’t want to raise the baby, you don’t have to. I’ll have Mom take care of it somewhere else. You won’t even have to see it unless absolutely necessary.

“You and I—we can stay the same, just like before. No one else between us. Please?”

He was begging now.

But with a child standing between them, how could things ever be the same?

Looking at the red rims of his eyes, Nina decided to give him one last chance.

“I won’t divorce you—as long as the child isn’t born.”

Miles fell silent.

“Honey, the child is innocent.”

A bitter laugh escaped her.

“Innocent, huh.”

Nina’s heart turned to ice. She shook off his hand.

In the vast, quiet office, her voice rang out clear and resolute.

“Miles Jackson, my lawyer will be in touch regarding the divorce.

“For now, let’s not see each other anymore.”